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John Edgar Caterson writes an important essay on the Culture Pub strategy for connecting with outsiders to the Christ following movement. We experimented with this strategy over the past year and I echo Caterson’s assessment. Read Architecting A Culture Pub

Dean Sharp also writes about the transformation of a suburban church plant into a missional culture pub in “You Can’t Always Get What you Need”

Both of these essays are important as they describe an innovative means of encountering non-Christ followers in the world. My own missional community Awaken Orlando experimented with some success with the culture pub strategy in late 07 and early 08. Culture pubs invite us to reflect critically on the lines between a missional church plant and the world as well as what it means to be missionary in Western culture. Is the best platform to understand oneself as “church planter” or “culture pub producer”?

“Those who have much to hope and nothing to lose will always be dangerous, more or less.”

Hope calls to those who listen. It may sound different than we expected. It may arrive in an unexpected way. But its song of invitation rings out nonetheless.

In a crowded upper room in Jerusalem, a group of weary travelers gathered with their teacher to celebrate an ancient rite together that commemorated their God’s deliverance of their ancestors from oppression and the freedom given them to live as God’s people for the world. But those were the days of old. The present days were full of trouble. Darkness was closing in around the band. Their teacher was popular with the unpopular of the land, but those in power were offended by his every word and act. They were biding their time for an opportunity to eliminate the young religious upstart. Unbeknownst to those present, one their own, Judas Iscariot, had already agreed to betray the teacher when no one was around to notice.

After the meal began, the teacher took bread, gave thanks to God for it, broke it, and passed around the table saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”  When they had finished eating, he took a goblet full of wine and said, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”

Later that night, his followers watched him be arrested by the authorities. The next day, he was flogged and crucified before their eyes. After his resurrection from the dead on Day Three, Jesus’ followers saw in his life of mission, death on a cross, and resurrection from the dead the unleashing of a long awaited New Covenant first promised through the Prophet Jeremiah over 600 years earlier.

31 “The time is coming,” declares the LORD,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah.

34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the LORD.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”

Our text from Jeremiah resounds with hope. But it was hope for those with ears to hear. Jeremiah did not come preaching to the affluent and well to do during a time of peace and prosperity. Jeremiah’s time was one marked by chaos, death, and destruction. His ministry occurred during the final days of the House of Judah when the Babylonians were oppressing God’s people. By the end of life, God’s people would be in exile and the land of his birth would be devastated and repopulated with foreigners.

Yet in the midst of the dark days at the end of the Judaean monarchy, Jeremiah proclaimed a coming new day on which God would reshape the order of reality and unleash a revived people to serve as agents of healing, hope, and restoration. The vision that Jeremiah proclaimed invites us to reclaim our identity as God’s people and step into a new future. Perhaps God can use these words again to renew our imaginations and reignite our passion to live as the people whom God created us to be.

Hope for a New Day
Jeremiah saw a new day when God’s people would experience a tectonic shift in their life with God. God would amp up the relationship by offering a New Covenant””one even greater than the covenant forged on the slopes of Mt. Sinai. The old covenant was broken repeatedly by the disobedience of God’s people. Its story was one of God’s faithfulness matched by the unfaithfulness of God’s people. In response, Jeremiah spoke the Word of God about a coming New Covenant to engender hope for those struggling and desperate for God to act. These bold words announce audaciously and counter-intuitively in the midst of trying times that God’s work of salvation is not merely in the past. The God who delivered God’s people from Egypt powerfully remains attentive and committed to fulfilling His mission to bring hope, healing, and restoration to the World.

The message to God’s people is clear. Persevere. Hang on. Live faithfully. God remains at work. A new day is coming.

Hope for a transforming encounter with God
The new reality that Jeremiah envisions begins with a life-altering encounter with the living God. The relationship between God’s people and the LORD will move beyond formal religion and mere attempts at obedience. For too long, God’s people had equated their life with God as the performance of ritual and the keeping of commands. At worst this way of relating to God allowed God’s people to separate religion from their personal ethics. When the new day dawns, God would internalize the law by inscribing it on the inner-most places of each person.

Instead of struggling endlessly and slavishly for faithfulness, God’s people would be unleashed to live lives of faithful obedience through the transformation of encountering the living God in a bold new way. The desire to live for God would bubble forth from inside of God’s people. It would permeate into all areas of life so that God’s people would truly live as the people of God for the world.

Hope for a personal relationship
Jeremiah sees a new age of personal relationship with God. There is more here than a sentimental “Jesus and me” religion. The prophet foresees a day when each of God’s people will truly know the LORD. The constant temptation is to substitute knowledge about God for a moment by moment relationship with God.

God’s desire for relationship is genuine and echoes the earliest pages of the Scriptures when God conversed with the first humans and walked with them in the garden. A people who truly know the LORD is a people ready to act. Knowing God is the doorway to living as the people whom God created us to be””a people who exist to embody and reflect God’s character to a watching world. By knowing the LORD, we become clues to those looking for God and voices of hope to all.

Hope for a new community
Jeremiah’s vision was for a renewed people of God as a whole. We are often tempted to understand our relationship with God on wholly individualistic terms. A radical individual approach to faith remains a temptation for God’s people, but such a view is foreign to a biblical faith including the new reality described by the prophet. The prophet can see clearly a new community of God’s people drawn “from the least of them to the greatest.”

E. Stanley Jones, the 20th century Methodist missionary to India, often said, “Christianity that doesn’t begin with the individual doesn’t begin; Christianity that ends with the individual ends.” God’s people exist as a missional community for the world. The danger of a self-referential faith is that it exists for the individual rather than for the world. The same danger exists for communities isolated from the world. Just as God freed Israel from Egypt to function as a “priestly kingdom and a holy nation” for the sake of all nations so also in the New Covenant, God’s people corporately function as a missionary people: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Pet 2:9)

Hope for forgiveness and new memories.
All of Jeremiah’s daring preaching reaches its climax in God’s declaration of intention to forgive iniquity and remove the sin of God’s people from his memory. These words are salve to the ears of those hearing Jeremiah’s words of hope but doubting that they would be meaningful to their own lives due to their past and present sins. God intends to create a new future built on new memories by freeing God’s people from slavery to their past failings. As biblical scholar Carolyn Osiek writes, “It is not ‘forgive and forget’ as if nothing wrong had ever happened, but ‘forgive and go forward,’ building on the mistakes of the past and the energy generated by reconciliation to create a new future.” The power of Jeremiah’s words is found in the promise of God to forgive us and reconcile us to himself as the basis for experiencing the other promises. This is good news indeed.

What if?
The disciples may not have understood Jesus words””This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood””on the eve of his death, but they risked their very lives on their truthfulness after his resurrection.

The darkest hour may indeed be right before the dawn. Jeremiah offered words as a poetic glimpse of the future that God has for those who seek him. The early Christian leader Tertullian wrote, “Hope is patience with the lamp lit.” This is a hope that can truly change the world.

What if following Jesus Christ were the way to experience the message of hope that Jeremiah preached to those desperate and longing for God?

The waves have been flat for most of the summer in the area north of Cocoa Beach. On the days that I could travel to the beach, the surf was knee high at best. On other days, the ocean brought to mind Coleridge’s words from Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner:

Day after day, day after day,
We stuck, nor breath nor motion;
As idle as a painted ship
Upon a painted ocean.

When Tropical Storm Fay began to approach Florida, I hoped that some better waves would appear. Last weekend, I worked hard to secure our home in case of high winds and rain (which alas came in the form of 15 inches of rain where I live. Our home is on relatively high ground. This was not the case for too many of my fellow Floridians).

Since my storm prep was finished, my wife and I headed to the beach on Monday in advance of Fay’s arrival to check out the surf. Fay would not arrive on the east coast of Florida for another day or so, but as I had anticipated, the surf was much better. For first time since early May, there were consistent sets of thigh-waist high waves. I had a blast. I am still a “kook” (a newbie surfer) so these waves were perfect for me. I managed to catch five or six good, long rides into the beach. I am still learning the art of paddling into waves, but I am slowly improving.

I learned something else as well: Storms can produce the best waves. I’ve watched surfers on the news heading to beaches when others were evacuating as hurricanes approached the shore. Now I understand. I do not advocate going into the surf in the heart of a major storm, but there is a lesson here nonetheless: How many times in our lives do we miss opportunities by seeking to avoid storms?

As missional leaders, we have been called to engage the cultures of the world with the Gospel. Such engagement always carries an element of risk. We have to leave the safe confines of our communities of faith and venture into the world to meet outsiders on their terms. We have to move beyond programmed and sanitized “outreach”events and begin to incarnate the character and love of God consistently in the world. But it is through consistent, missional engagement that authentic relationship begin to be formed with women and men who do not follow Jesus. The danger of carrying the Gospel in the cafes and marketplaces of the world will be offset by the opportunity to meet and love people who are beyond the reach of most Christ followers.

I wonder if we too often miss the exhilaration of participating in God’s mission because we forget that storms can produce the best waves.

Over the next few days, I will post commentary on Leviticus 25:8-24. Here are notes on verses 8-12:

8 In addition, you must count off seven Sabbath years, seven sets of seven years, adding up to forty-nine years in all. 9 Then on the Day of Atonement in the fiftieth year,[a] blow the ram’s horn loud and long throughout the land. 10 Set this year apart as holy, a time to proclaim freedom throughout the land for all who live there. It will be a jubilee year for you, when each of you may return to the land that belonged to your ancestors and return to your own clan. 11 This fiftieth year will be a jubilee for you. During that year you must not plant your fields or store away any of the crops that grow on their own, and don’t gather the grapes from your unpruned vines. 12 It will be a jubilee year for you, and you must keep it holy. But you may eat whatever the land produces on its own.

Leviticus 25:8-12

Moses received the law of the Jubilee from the LORD on Mount Sinai (Lev 25:1). This claim recurs throughout Leviticus (1:1, etc.) and is important because it heightens the authority of the law. The regulations around Jubilee come from the LORD and must be received as the word of God.

Jubilee falls on the completion of a seven year cycle of Sabbath years. This number is significant. As noted above, seven is linked with Sabbath. The new community that the LORD is creating through Israel lives to fulfill God’s original intentions in Creation (Gen 1:1-2:3). The Sabbath is a witness to creation that a God-given and modeled rest is the final word on creation. It is a proclamation that justice and peace have been woven into the very fabric of the world that the LORD has made.

Moreover, by occurring every 50 years, Jubilee assures each generation that there will be a society-wide economic reset during its lifetime. Jubilee prevented the permanent economic ruin of families. In ancient times as today, debt was a serious problem. But in the ancient world, debtors did not have recourse to bankruptcy laws for protection from creditors and could easily find themselves forced to sell the family’s land and in some cases even sell themselves as slaves in order to pay off indebtedness. Thus, Jubilee was a time in which land returned to its original recipients, slaves were released, and debts were forgiven.

Biblical scholars are divided over the precise nature of the counting of years. Some argue that the fiftieth year was the first year following the seventh Sabbatical year. Others suggest that the fiftieth year was symbolic and was in reality the close of the forty-ninth year from the Day of Atonement (tenth day of seventh month) forward (25:9). In favor of the first option is that this is the straightforward reading of the text (see also comments below on 25:18-22). In favor of the second is the problem presented by not cultivating crops for two straight years (no harvest during the seventh Sabbatical year or during the year of Jubilee)—a lack of food.

The commencement of Jubilee is announced by a loud trumpet blast on the Day of Atonement throughout the land. The Day of Atonement (Lev 16) was a key holy day for God’s people. The priests performed rituals of purification for God’s people. The sins of the community were symbolically carried away from the people through the expulsion of a scapegoat from the community. It is thus fitting that Jubilee would begin on a day centered on the removal of sin and injustice from God’s people.

Jubilee was sacred (25:10). Sometimes we mistakenly separate the sacred from everyday life. The year of Jubilee boldly proclaims that lives of true holiness embody justice for the poor and marginalized of society. Jubilee announces liberty. Liberty here is not restricted only to the well to do. It is a liberty that specifically affects the underclass—those who have experienced severe dislocation and economic instability. The same word is found in Isa 61:1—The Spirit of the LORD is upon me because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners. Jesus began his public ministry by reciting these very words (Luke 4:18). It is a liberty that frees its beneficiaries to lives fully as the people whom God created them to be.

Each person was to return to the land that was given to his or her family and clan at the time that Israel entered the land of Canaan (Num 34). Private property rights did not exist in ancient Israel. Each family/clan/tribe served as stewards of the land. Land could be bought or sold, but it was done so with the understanding that it would revert to its original recipient during the year of Jubilee. In other words, the purchase of land was more of a leasing than an actual permanent transfer of property rights.

The year of Jubilee was celebrated in a manner similar to the Sabbath year (25:4-5). God’s people were not to sow or harvest (verses 11-12). Since agriculture was the principal vocation of almost everyone, the year of Jubilee was a year of rest from labor. However, this was also a profound act of faith. By refraining from planting and reaping, God’s people were trusting in God’s provision for their food.

The LORD delivered God’s people from Egypt so that they might serve as a community committed to reflecting and embodying God’s character for the nations. The Law or Torah received at Sinai functioned as an authoritative guide to God’s will for the community. As the people of God, Israel was to be a “holy nation” (Exod 19:6). In the book of Leviticus, the call to holiness is explicit: Be holy for I am holy (Lev 11:44-45 cf 19:2). God’s people must be holy because the LORD is holy. The word holy carries two important connotations. To be holy means to be set apart. A holy Israel means an Israel that has been set apart to serve the LORD.

But this is only half of the meaning. In the biblical use of the word, to be holy means to embody the character of the one for whom one is set apart. God’s people are holy to the extent that they reflect and embody the character of God. The holiness of God’s people is key to God’s missional purposes in the world. God’s people serve as a clue to the nations about the greatness of the LORD. The witness of God’s people stands or falls on its ability to live lives of holiness before a watching world.

The call to holiness encompasses all of life. It is not limited to a religious sphere. It has profound implications for how God’s people order their economic lives. Leviticus 25 roots the economic lives of God’s people into the fabric of the created order. The principle of keeping Sabbath every seven days (Exod 20:8-11; Deut 5:12-15) is extended to a Sabbath year every seven years (Lev 25:1-8). God’s people are to cultivate and harvest crops for six years. On the seventh year, the fields are left fallow and the workers including servants, hired workers, and foreign laborers rest from their labors. The people were permitted to eat what the land naturally produced but there was to be no planned cultivation. The year of gleaning was of special benefit for the poor and for wild animals (Exod 23:10-11). The Sabbath year was a witness to God’s caring for all Creation.

The year of Jubilee was the fullest application of the Sabbath law in the Bible. Jubilee occurs once every fifty years. Jubilee falls after the completion of seven Sabbath year cycles (25:1-8).

Today, I am working with a group of ministry interns with the Central Florida Wesley Foundation. This group serves the main campus of the University of Central Florida just east of Orlando. Each team member has taken the Clifton-Gallup StrengthsFinder Assessment.

We will be doing some team building exercises and provide a general introduction to Strengths theory.

Here are some links that may be helpful for persons desiring more information:

Articles by Brian
Annotated Bibliography for StrengthsFinder Resources

Thinking about Strengths and Talents

Unleashed for God: Reflections on Strengths, Gifts, Talents, and Passions

The Power of Focus

Other links:
Advising Strategies for Course Selection Based on StrengthsFinders

Chip Anderson’s Description of the 34 Talents (Anderson was one of the early maestros of StrengthsFinder

Tim McGinnis’s site